Sweet Sister

Chapter 31

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Time had flown faster than Rhae ever imagined. One minute she was in the Captain's Quarters, rejecting Asheli's flirtatious attempt, and the next, she's on the forecastle deck, a month later.

The crew snored peacefully in the Cargo Hold on their hammocks while Annabel bustled about in her quarters she'd been occupying since they set sail from King's Landing. Rhae missed Niclas's crew and the sword-playing that never ceased, no matter the time —unless heavy drinking was involved that evening.

Aboard Asheli's vessel, Rhae's made friends, but it's different compared to Niclas's crew. His had been more friendly and outgoing, for a bunch of no-good pirates. Asheli's crew, on the other-hand, are the complete opposite.

They're vulgar, crude and lack any sense of humanity, it seemed. How Asheli managed them is beyond Rhae, but it's not her business to interfere, and she never did.

A week into her stay, Rhae rather enjoyed the company of two brothers, Paxtan and Darrok —the youngest members aboard. Paxtan's 12, dark-haired, quick-tempered and brown-eyed. Darrok's 10, his hair two shades lighter than his brother, reserved and hazel-eyed.

She tended to help with their duties of keeping the ship clean and tidying up the lower decks.

Standing on the forecastle of the ship, Rhae inhaled the fresh salty air. Few stars littered the night sky, twinkling on her and the crew as they sailed, and no moonlight lit their way.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?"

The Captain had climbed the short climb up the stairs. She stopped behind Rhae a few feet, her boot skidding across the deck. "I don't think I have ever seen the sea this calm," Rhae mentioned, not once phased by Asheli's random appearance. After the frost few times of her doing this over the last month, she no longer became startled or shocked by the visits.

  "I've been pulling my hair, trying to figure out why you'd want to go to Astapor." Ashlei shook her head, hands placed on her hips, "There's nothing but no-good men who'd snatch women like you up who're ripe for the picking. Got someone waiting for you?"

  "The Captain's concerned about my well being?" The half-blooded dragon teased, shooting Ashlei a look over her shoulder, "Though I shouldn't be surprised, considering your failed attempts at seducing me."

  Asheli scoffed, voice lowering, "It's not every day the famed whore of Lys boards your ship." Rhae's heart stopped and her breath hitched. She tried so hard to leave that involuntary life behind, and it worked for a time, until now. "Don't act so surprised," the Captain moved her hands from her hips.

  "How did—"

"I've done plenty of business in Lys, including my pleasures, like any other sailor or tourist. This isn't the first time we've met," Asheli said, now standing closer to Rhae than before, but there was no intimacy behind it.

"I don't recognize your face, and I have not forgotten the faces of my past customers." Rhae was guarded, her voice having grown more stern.

Asheli chuckles, "We never did a thing, Rhae. Your ex-owner and I are very good business partners. Introductions between us were never formally made."